Conventional digital displays for digital watches, calculators, and other electronic instruments are constructed to create seven line-segments of light. These segments may be illuminated independantly of one another. By illuminating certain combinations of segments, the digits may be formed; displays with greater than seven segments may also project the letters.
A common type of digital display is that of the light-emitting-diode variety. A segment on such a display is actually not one continuous strip of light, as it appears but many collinear dots of light from as many collinear light-emitting-diodes (L.E.D.'s). These dots are assimilated into a continuous line-segment by the human eye. Sometimes this multitude of parts is augmented by a light-diffusing part located between the dots of light and their viewer(s).
Amidst these serried parts there is little or no unused space for the additional parts which would permit polychromatic display, which display requires that a plurality of colors of light seem to appear from the same location.
Polychromatic display will be appreciated for its ability to convey to the user--in addition to the letters, numerals, or characters themselves--a feeling, impulse, or emotion which will allow users to react more quickly and decisively to vital data.